Many Florida Millennials want to purchase homes, but they continue renting because they don’t think they can get mortgages. Unfortunately, many of these would-be first-time homebuyers have a lot of misconceptions about what it actually takes to get a home loan. The truth is that, armed with the right information, many of these Millennials in Florida could finance houses. They may think they need huge down payments, perfect credit scores, and absolutely no student debt, but this is not the case. There are mortgages available for most types of first-time homebuyers in Florida. So, Millennials who feel ready to own a home should carefully research their options before assuming that a mortgage is out of reach.
Florida Millennials Should Know that First-Time Homebuyers Don’t Always Need Extra-Large Down Payments
A recent study revealed that most Florida Millennials think that a down payment on a home must equal at least 21% of the purchase price. Luckily, in most cases, this is not true at all. In fact, there are dozens of government and lender-backed programs that allow first-time homebuyers to put down as little as 3% on their home loans.
Yet, according to the same poll, only about 38% of Florida Millennials know that such programs exist. Of course, a lot of young adults have trouble saving up even 3% of a home’s selling price. However, there are additional programs out there that provide assistance to Millennial homebuyers who need down payments. In addition, young buyers can always ask family members to pitch in if necessary. Most lenders just don’t allow buyers to fund down payments with additional loans.
Why Even Millennials with Bad Credit Can Become First-Time Homebuyers
Not having a down payment is the number one reason cited by Florida Millennials for not going after home ownership. Then, the number two reason is perceived bad credit. It is very likely that many Millennials who think they have bad credit actually don’t. This is a viable theory because, according to the abovementioned study, only 56% of Millennials have checked their credit reports and credit scores in the past year. This leaves a large group of young adults who really don’t know where they stand with their credit.
Even first-time homebuyers in Florida with bad credit can get loans if they go through the right channels. For example, many banks offer mortgage products to consumers with FICO scores as low as 600. An FHA loan is also an option for Millennials with less than perfect credit. Believe it or not, a Florida Millennial can get an FHA loan with a 3.5% rate to buy a home with a 580 FICO score.
Florida Millennials Can Qualify to Become First-Time Homebuyers While Carrying Student Debt
The Millennial generation is the most heavily weighed down by student loan debt. Also, about 50% of young adults in Florida are worried about student loans all or most of the time. With such a heavy financial burden to bear, it’s easy to understand why so many indebted Millennials think of home ownership as an impossible dream. Yet, there are non-profit housing counselors located in Florida and throughout the country. Only about 30% of Millennials are aware that this help is available, but these professionals can guide first-time homebuyers with existing student debt through the mortgage process. In fact, these counselors are often able to assist future homeowners with loan consolidation or forbearance options.
Why All Florida First-Time Homebuyers Should Check their Credit Reports
Before starting the mortgage application process, Florida Millennials should check their credit reports and credit scores. Many young adults don’t know this, but about 80% of Florida credit reports are flawed in some way. Sadly, creditors and credit reporting agencies frequently mishandle consumer information. They make mistakes, and these errors end up on consumer credit reports as inaccuracies that can bring down credit scores.
In order to get these mistakes off your credit reports, you must find them. So, every 12 months, go to www.annualcreditreport.com, and request free copies of your credit reports from TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Just remember to do this well in advance of applying for a home loan. If you need to dispute anything on your credit reports, you must get this process wrapped up before filling out a mortgage application. This is because lenders won’t approve homebuyers with open disputes on their credit reports.
If you find errors on any of your credit reports, the easiest and fastest way to remove them is to call Credit Repair Lawyers of America in Florida. When you contact our firm, an experienced credit attorney will fix your credit reports for FREE. Even if we need to file lawsuits on your behalf, you get clean credit reports for no money out of pocket – Guaranteed.
The Free and Legal Way to Get Better Credit
Don’t let errors on your credit reports bring your credit score down. At Credit Repair Lawyers of America, we’ve been cleaning up credit reports for consumers since 2008 for free. How do we do it? All of our fees come from the defendants in settled cases. This is why our clients pay nothing for the work we do.
Let’s start the conversation about what we can do for your credit. Set up your free consultation today by calling Attorney Gary Nitzkin at (855) 956-2089 or sending him a message through our contact page.
For more information about Free Credit Repair, please visit https://creditrepairlawyersam.com/florida/credit-repair/.
